Don't You Dare Forget the Sun
by Misagi
Summary: Merlin saves a family from being executed, leading to his magic being revealed. Uther believes Merlin is evil, just like the rest of the sorcerers, and calls in Aredian. Not just a witchfinder but expert in torture and getting people to reveal and confess their deepest secrets and crimes. (Rest of summary in chapter)
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:**

**Merlin saves a family from being executed, leading to his magic being revealed. Uther believes Merlin is evil, just like the rest of the sorcerers, and calls in Aredian. Not just a witchfinder but expert in torture and getting people to reveal and confess their deepest secrets and crimes.**

**Basically, Merlin is tortured and Arthur has to save him. With a whole load of plot, angst and fluff in there somewhere...no really there is, and of course some Merthur romance too.**

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**Okay people, my first attempt at a Merlin fic - hopefully it's not a complete disaster!**

**This is a pretty dark one, not much (hardly any) happy stuff happens i'm afraid**

**I don't really know when in the series this fic is set but basically, Uther is alive, Morgana isn't evil and all the knights are there (Leon, Elyan, Percival, Lancelot and Gwaine)**

**But please, there are gonna be some parts in here that some readers may not like to read and Merlin (the poor guy) is gonna be tortured pretty badly so that been graphic depictions of violence/torture and there's also gonna be psychological/emotional torture too - it's a pretty heavy fic**

**so anyone who doesn't like this sort of stuff please don't read, i have warned you**

**ah, title is a song by Get Scared - the actual song isn't really relevant in any way, just liked the title**

**so...here we go i suppose!**

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Merlin was just gathering the last of the seemingly endless pile of laundry from the prince's chambers when the doors flew open and the prince himself strode in. He took no notice of Merlin stood watching as he pulled off his cloak and threw it to the floor before collapsing into a chair with a sigh and closing his eyes. The servant was about to ask what was wrong this time but then he paused, he clutched the dirty clothes a little tighter and cautiously stepped towards the prince. Arthur's whole body was trembling as if it could hardly contain the emotions inside, Merlin swallowed and bent down to pick up the discarded cloak before clearing his throat quietly. "Sire?"

The blonde's eyes snapped open and his thunderous gaze had Merlin frozen. He'd never seen Arthur so angry before. Merlin swallowed loudly and waited for Arthur to say something, he knew when he shouldn't push the prince. Arthur brought his hand to his eyes and sighed deeply, he rose from the chair and made his way over to the window to stare out at the courtyard. The servant watched as Arthur leaned his head against the cool glass and then turned to face him. "Merlin what is your opinion on magic?"

Merlin was stunned by the question and found his mouth opening and closing. How was he supposed to answer that? "My father, he's sentenced a whole family to die."

The warlock felt his face grow pale and he carefully deposited the laundry on the bed before making his way over to the prince. "What happened?"

Arthur leaned against the wall by the window. "Their child was witnessed practicing magic. So my father decided the whole family must burn along with him."

Merlin felt bile rise in his throat, his stomach churning uncomfortably, but he managed to keep his voice steady. "The child, what did he do?"

The anger faded in the prince's eyes, only to be replaced by a deep sadness and confusion that had Merlin's heart twist painfully. "He grew a flower. Merlin, evil magic doesn't grow flowers. Children can't be evil."

Merlin clenched his hands into fists and shook his head he looked down at his feet and felt Arthur's eyes on him. "Arthur I-" He broke off and pursed his lips, he couldn't tell Arthur about his magic, not yet, but he could help better his opinion of it.

"Merlin I want your opinion on this. Am I right to think this way?"

The warlock looked up shocked and nodded quickly. "Yes. Arthur I…I believe that magic is not evil. I think that-" He paused again and unclenched his fists, only to quickly grab onto the bottom of his old, brown jacket. "I think it's the person that wields the magic that makes it so."

Arthur placed a gentle hand on Merlin's shoulder and nodded. "Thank you, Merlin." He turned to leave the room when Merlin's voice stopped him.

"Are you going to help them? The family."

The prince locked eyes with his servant and folded his arms over his chest. "I can try and talk to my father."

Merlin nodded and Arthur left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

The warlock, forgetting the laundry, waited a few seconds and then raced from the chambers. He charged down the corridors, bumping into numerous servants and knights, barely giving himself time for a quick apology before he reached Gaius' chambers. He burst in and almost tripped over his own feet before reaching the bench Gaius was currently working at.

"Gaius I need your help."

The man looked up and raised his eyebrow knowingly. "The family Uther sentenced this morning?"

Merlin nodded and tried to catch his breath. "There must be something we can do? How can he sentence a whole family just because of what someone saw the child do? How do we even know the child did it?"

Gaius sighed and sat down, motioning for Merlin to do the same. "This isn't something you can meddle with, Merlin. It was a trusted knight of Camelot that witnessed the child practicing magic. No word, not even Arthur's, will be enough to sway the King's decision. If you try and go against the knight's word you'll be sentenced with them. Do not put yourself in danger over this, boy."

Merlin frowned and looked down at his lap, he didn't understand the King's laws, and if what Arthur had said was true about it being a simple flower then how can the King see that as evil? He rose from the bench and without another word to Gaius he left the room. Merlin knew he wouldn't be able to just sit back and watch a whole family die for one child's innocent use of magic. He felt his own magic prickling under his skin at the injustice of it all. With his decision made, he rushed down to the entrance to the cells where he knew the family would be held. Uther, in his arrogance, had left only two guards by the door. No sorcerer's had escaped these cells, the bars were made of iron, suppressing any magic that the prisoner's may possess.

The warlock whispered a spell under his breath and as his eyes turned gold, the guards began to feel tired. It was a new spell Merlin had learned and he wasn't sure if it would work, but soon enough, both guards were heavily asleep, slumped against the wall. Merlin smiled to himself and crept down the stairs in case of more guards but none were to be seen. He quickly found the cell that contained the family and his chest constricted at the sight. They'd all huddled into the corner, the young boy accused of the magic hidden behind them as if that would protect him from his fate. Merlin stopped in front of the bars and the father looked up, a frown on his face but didn't say anything. "I'm going to get you out of here."

Merlin took a step back and closed his eyes, holding his hand out to the bars. Suddenly the lock on the door exploded and the door fell to the ground. The family looked at him in a mix of awe and fear as he stepped inside. He held his hand out and tried for a reassuring smile. "Come on, we don't have much time. No doubt someone heard that."

The father slowly rose to his feet and for the first time Merlin saw who he and his wife were shielding. Three young children were all holding onto each other, fresh tears running down their cheeks. "Please, we have to go. I can get you out of here."

The father studied Merlin once more before nodding and motioning his wife and children to leave the cell. As they left the father took Merlin's hand in a firm grip. "Thank you." Merlin smiled and shook his head but before he could say anything the guards began to stir and one of them rose to his feet. His eyes locked on Merlin and the man and he stood in shock. Merlin felt a knot of fear twisting in his stomach. The guard had recognized him. He had seen him helping the prisoners escape.

The warlock stumbled back and pulled the man along behind him as he ran. He gathered the rest of the family and just as they made it to the exit the warning bells began to sound. Merlin, now uncaring if people noticed, blasted the door from its hinges and pushed the family out. "You can make it into the forest, find the druids, they'll help you."

The woman ran with her children while the man hung back, his eyes sad. "What about you?"

Merlin shrugged and waved the man away. "Don't worry about me, just get your family safe."

The sound of the guards running down the corridor and their shouts spurred the man into action. He gave one last look over his shoulder before disappearing into the trees. Merlin took a deep breath and realised his whole body was trembling. He felt tears sting his eyes as he turned. He could have run. He could have escaped with the family. He knew any other person would have done, but as he saw the guards coming to a stop in front of him, he knew that he could never leave. Arthur was his destiny and his friend, he wouldn't abandon him, even if it meant Merlin would face the flames.

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**What did you think?**

**Maybe i should have warned OCC? i'm not sure**

**anyway, this is about as light as the fic is going to be so...**

**hopefully you enjoyed it! and please please leave a review because this is a kind of tester to see the response to the story (i'm pretty nervous about posting in this fandom because there are sooooooooo many awesome stories out there for this one)**

**hopefully see you in the next chapter! :)**

**~Misagi**


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin leaned heavily on the wall, letting out a long breath as he saw the first flickering shadows of the guards racing towards him. He felt his legs begin to tremble and sank down, his back grazing the wall, as he reached the floor. The warlock slowly slid his eyes shut and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, maybe Arthur would listen to him, at least give him a chance to explain, but he knew it wouldn't be Arthur that he would be facing. It would be Uther and his absolute hatred of magic.

The rush of feet stopped and Merlin opened his eyes to see a group of knights stood facing him and his heart stuttered in his chest as he saw who had come to chase him down. Gwaine, Percival, Elyan, Leon, Lancelot and Arthur. He stood at the front of his most trusted knights, anger and betrayal in his eyes, the torch Leon held beside him illuminated his golden hair and Merlin had never seen the prince look so beautiful. His breath caught in his throat and suddenly tears were spilling down his cheeks. He couldn't even reach up to wipe them away, the energy completely drained from his body. His blue eyes met Arthur's and held his gaze for a few seconds before the warlock had to look away, letting his head fall forwards, not able to stand the look of sadness he saw. After a long silence, Leon stepped forward and cleared his throat. "You're under arrest. Your crimes are aiding convicted sorcerers to escape and suspicion of practicing magic-" He stopped as Arthur raised a hand and Merlin slowly looked up to see Arthur crouch down in front of him, bringing their faces level and so close that Merlin could feel the prince's breath.

There was a long, strained silence as Arthur continued to stare at his manservant. Merlin could hardly see through the tears still spilling from his eyes and he found that he could not look at his prince any longer, his eyes dropped and he took a deep, shuddering breath. "A-Arthur I-" The prince reached forwards and placed his hand over Merlin's mouth. "Not a word, Merlin." His voice was hard and cold and it made Merlin's stomach swirl with dread. He knew right then that he'd broken any chance he had of Arthur ever trusting him, ever confiding in him and calling him a friend. "We don't have much time. Leon, take the others and lead the guards elsewhere."

Leon hesitated, his gaze flickering between the prince and manservant. "But, Sire-"

"Don't argue with me."

The knight bowed his head and slowly backed away, motioning for the other knights to do the same. Gwaine and Lancelot hesitated, hanging back, keeping a wary eye on the pair. "If you do not leave us this second I will have you on the pyre in place of the family. Go." Arthur glanced over his shoulder at the two remaining knights and with a final glare, Lancelot and Gwaine turned and followed the other knights. As soon as they were out of sight, Arthur's whole body slumped and his hand fell from Merlin's mouth. The prince looked broken and Merlin wanted so much to reach out and hold him, run his fingers through his golden hair and tell him that everything was going to be okay. "Why? Why did you do it, Merlin?"

The warlock gathered his knees to his chest and curled up as tightly as he could, as if this could somehow keep him from falling apart in front of his friend. "I couldn't let them die."

Arthur ran trembling fingers down his face and his blue eyes studied the warlock's face. "You have magic. You used magic to free them. Nothing else could have done that damage to the door."

Fresh tears welled in Merlin's eyes as he slowly lowered his head in conformation, not trusting his voice to work past the lump in his throat.

"Why?"

The warlock choked and shook his head, unable to keep it together anymore. "They were going to die, Arthur. I couldn't stand there and watch a whole family die because of a simple mistake by a child. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry-"

Arthur cut him off by holding up a hand and sighing loudly. "Don't."

Another silence pressed down on them, using the precious little time they had left. The sound of shouts not far from their position made Merlin flinch and Arthur grabbed him by the arm and hauled them both to their feet. He dragged Merlin the short distance to the entrance and shoved him roughly away. "Get away from here. Leave Camelot and never come back." Merlin stood in stunned silence, so convinced that Arthur would turn him in after his betrayal.

"Arthur, Sire-"

"Go."

The warlock took one last look at his prince before stumbling back a few steps and running. His chest burned as he struggled to gain enough breath but he kept going, forcing himself not to look back, he wasn't sure he could stand to see that broken look in his friend's eyes again. Tears made fresh tracks down his cheeks as he choked, his steps faltering as he reached the edge of the forest. He fell to his knees in the dirt and clutched at the ground, heaving sobs escaping his chest. He knew he should keep moving if he didn't want to be found, no doubt the guards were leaving the castle as he sat there, but he couldn't bring himself to move. The warlock sucked in deep breaths and tried to calm himself down, he had to think of a way to stay at Arthur's side without getting caught, but first he had to hide.

Merlin rose to his feet and wiped his face on his sleeves, he knew crying did no good so he forced the tears away and took a deep breath before running on. He'd run no more than a few minutes when he heard the sound of hooves thundering behind him. Fear swept through his body and as he turned his head to look back he saw knights of Camelot had caught his trail and were fast catching up with him, though luckily they had yet to spot him. He pushed himself faster, darting between the trees, his eyes flashing gold as he hastily tried to cover his tracks behind him.

His legs ached and his lungs screamed for more oxygen, he knew he couldn't keep running much longer, he knew he'd shaken the knights a little way back but couldn't stop. Not yet. Not until he knew he was far enough away they wouldn't accidentally find him.


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur leaned heavily against the wall as he watched the one person he thought he could trust the most run from him. His chest felt tight and he couldn't stop the single tear that rolled down his cheek. That man had betrayed him, lied to him and broken the rules of Camelot yet he couldn't summon the energy to hate him. Arthur's whole body felt exhausted as he slid to the ground and more tears fell as his body shook with silent sobs. Merlin's face swam in his mind, the complete fear that shone in his eyes pierced Arthur's heart. Clearly Merlin did not see their friendship as Arthur had, the servant had truly believed Arthur could kill him.

The prince heard footsteps behind him but didn't turn to look, he knew who it would be. "He's gone. I sent him away."

Gwaine allowed some of the tension to leave his body, he'd not wanted to leave Merlin alone, not after discovering that his suspicions were true but he had no choice. The knight slowly knelt next to his prince and placed a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be fine, Princess." The blonde turned his gaze to his kninght, not bothering to hide his tears and lowered his head in a nod before allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. "So what now?"

Arthur took a deep breath and fiddled with his belt and it hit him with a jolt that Merlin would never again be there, chattering away about nothing while trying to hide his nerves, as he strapped Arthur into his armour. There would be no clumsy attempts at chores, no late breakfasts or lunch. No Merlin. It felt like a punch to his gut and Arthur squeezed his eyes shut, he had to push these feelings away, he had to stay strong and keep a stony face in front of his father and the court. Merlin was a convicted sorcerer, he could not show any emotion towards the man. "Arthur?" At the sound of Gwaine's voice, Arthur opened his eyes and took a deep breath before placing the mask over his features. "Where are the other knights? Gather them together, no doubt my father will want a search party sent after the sorcerer."

Gwaine merely blinked at the blonde before sighing and pointing vaguely down the passage. "They were leading other groups away from here. You're not going to-"

"We must inform the king that the sorcerer escaped." Without waiting for a reply, Arthur marched off towards the throne room, only hoping that Merlin was able to get far enough away or hide himself somewhere.

As Arthur entered the throne room, he saw his father sat tensely on his throne, awaiting news about the sorcerer. "Son, has he been found?"

Arthur bowed his head slightly and gripped the hilt of his sword until his knuckles turned white. "The sorcerer escape, Sire. I shall gather the knights and search the forest for him, he cannot have gone far." The King nodded his acceptance and rose from his throne. "Do not hesitate, son. If you find him kill him. I know you were unnaturally fond of the boy but you cannot let that stop you, he is a sorcerer and no doubt had some plan to destroy Camelot. Order the knights to kill him on sight." The prince swallowed hard and bowed before turning and shouting at the first servant he found to prepare the horses.

As the horses thundered through the trees Arthur couldn't help the twisting in his stomach as he realised Merlin had left a trail that was all too traceable but he pressed on. If Merlin was stupid enough to not try to cover his tracks then it was not Arthur's fault if he was found. He had gripped the reins so tightly his hands were cramping and his back felt stiff where his whole body was tense. The ride was silent apart from the occasional call to follow the trail. Gwaine had refused to ride out with them, Arthur didn't argue with him, he'd always known it was Merlin the man was loyal to. Arthur briefly considered the fact that Gwaine had known about Merlin's magic, they'd been close ever since they met, but he dismissed the idea quickly. Gwaine looked just as shocked and betrayed as Arthur.

The group was called to a halt as Leon jumped down from his horse and ran his fingers over the ground. "The tracks end here. We've lost him, Sire."

Arthur couldn't help the small breath of relief and nodded, pulling on the reins to turn his horse around. "Leon come with me. The rest of you search the area, meet here before the sun falls. We'll camp out and resume the search in the morning." Leon climbed back onto his horse and followed Arthur in the direction Merlin had most likely gone. Arthur had first assumed Merliln would head home, towards Ealdor and his mother, but the tracks pointed in the opposite direction and the prince could only assume Merlin was just trying to get away, not heading in a specific direction.

Once out of earshot of the other knights, Leon rode up next to Arthur and bit his bottom lip. "You can speak freely, Leon."

The knight nodded and adjusted his grip on the reins. "Sire if we find Mer-the sorcerer, what are we going to do. The King ordered we kill him on sight."

Arthur sighed and allowed his tense shoulders to slump. "I don't know, Leon. I can't kill him. He was once a trusted friend. He betrayed me and the kingdom with his lies but I cannot bring myself to believe he is evil. If he was the evil my father claims then why would he risk discovery to set the family free. It makes no sense."

Leon nodded and brought his horse to a stop, prompting Arthur to do the same. "Arthur you know my loyalty is to the King, I cannot betray his orders." The knight paused and Arthur watched a struggle going on in his friend's mind. "I do not believe Merlin to be evil, but we cannot return empty handed. The King will not accept that he has just disappeared. Especially as he was your manservant and privy to the goings on of the castle, he will know many things that Camelot's enemies would give their right arm to know."

Arthur allowed Leon's words to sink in and felt the last of the energy leave him. He knew what the knight had said was true, his father would not stop until Merlin was brought in. The prince turned to look Leon in the eye, his expression broken. "I don't know what to do." Leon was shocked at the Prince's admission, he had never seen such an open expression of grief and vulnerability on Arthur's face before and he wished he never would again. His brow furrowed and he signaled his horse to move once again. "We'll figure something out, Arthur. We just need to hope Merlin is sensible enough not to stay within Camelot's borders." Arthur nodded gratefully at his knight, knowing that going against the king was not something his old friend took lightly, he knew it would cost Leon greatly.

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**I just realised i completely forgot to leave a note on the last chapter! so sorry about that**

**i wanted to apologise for the slow update!**

**but here is the third chapter :D**

**thank you to everyone who is still reading this :)**

**hope you liked it!**

~if you notice any mistakes pleeeease let me know and i'll fix them asap X3

**~Misagi**


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